The Counseling Psychologist

An expanding literature reveals that personality traits and psychological resources (PRs) are important in human well-being. In this article, the author reviews the literature regarding four PRs (positive thoughts, hardiness, generalized self-efficacy, and optimism), discusses the relationships among PRs and between PRs and personality characteristics, and proposes a theory that helps to account for current findings. Specific hypotheses are proposed, and implications for the practice of counseling psychology are discussed.